Cracking the skills shortage... should you go offshore?

Australian businesses are facing a national shortage of ICT and cyber skills workers, an issue that has been ongoing and is predicted to last for years to come. However, the ability for many people to now work from home means resource-strapped organisations need not limit their recruiting and hiring practices to domestic borders — there is a global pool of talent that can be tapped to fill positions where there’s a skills gap.

Australia will require an additional 30,000 cybersecurity professionals over the next four years to keep pace with rapidly evolving security needs, according to the National Skills Commission.

This demand is evident in the latest Labour Market Update from the government, which shows that ICT business & system analysts remain in the top 20 occupations in demand nationally, along with database & systems admin and ICT security.

While Australia may be lacking the ICT and cyber skills needed to confront the complex digital landscape that businesses are now operating in, workers equipped to deal with these challenges can be found in numerous countries — businesses simply need to expand their hiring strategies and be ready to embrace a global workforce.

Oversupply of skilled ICT and cyber workers in several countries

Businesses that contain recruiting to Australia may be making the challenge of overcoming the skills gap more difficult for themselves. In fact, there are millions of highly skilled individuals in communities across the world who are looking for employment with good pay and conditions.

The United States, India and the Philippines are among the top countries with a large number of qualified jobseekers in database & systems admin and ICT security, according to analysis conducted by Safeguard Global. However, there are not enough roles within each country to fill them.

In the United States, there are over two million unemployed people in this field, compared to around 74,000 job vacancies in the industry. India has approximately 700,000 qualified workers competing for just 3076 positions; in the Philippines, over 365,000 candidates are available to fill a mere 227 open roles.

The story for qualified ICT business & system analysts is similar, with the United States, Brazil and India being nations with high numbers of unemployed qualified workers. 8.5 million American, around two million Brazilian and over two million Indian candidates are available for 200,000, 1715, and 5031 job openings respectively.

Thanks to the development of new technologies that have improved remote work capabilities, Australian businesses can recruit and hire people from anywhere to fill ICT and cyber skills gaps, including these countries. As a result, these employees can continue to live where they want, get great jobs, bring home income, and contribute to their local economies without needing to relocate.

To reap the most benefits and guarantee the best performance from an international workforce, there are several factors that businesses must consider, including language barriers, cultural differences and compliance.

What to consider when taking the search for skilled workers international

Whether a business is recruiting in North America, Asia or South America, it is important to implement effective communications systems and ensure compliance with each country’s employment laws.

Providing language and culture training, or hiring bilingual employees who can act as translators, is a good way to break down language barriers, foster meaningful relationships in teams, and facilitate a deeper understanding between diverse employees of each other’s perspectives.

Greater diversity and inclusivity in businesses leads to positive performance outcomes, as demonstrated by a 2019 study from The Wall Street Journal ranking how diverse and inclusive industries and companies on the S&P500 index were. The 20 most diverse companies achieved an average annual stock return of 10%, versus 4.2% for the 20 least diverse companies.

Permit requirements, benefits and taxes are among the considerations that businesses will need to make when hiring international workers, as hefty penalties can apply if local labour laws and regulations aren’t followed. Global employment services providers that have regional expertise can assist businesses in remaining compliant and are also useful in sourcing the best candidates and managing the paperwork, allowing businesses to hire without needing to set up a local entity.

Australian businesses are in dire need of skilled ICT and cyber skills workers, who are hard to come by and highly sought after in the current local labour market. While education and immigration policies will help to grow the pipeline of skilled workers in Australia over the longer term, there are millions of qualified candidates overseas seeking roles in this sector who can help address the national skills shortage.

Image credit: iStock.com/Jirsak